


Hello my little Journal

by WonderlichAlice



Category: Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:49:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21909241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WonderlichAlice/pseuds/WonderlichAlice
Summary: Bellowsoom Longvine is a young forest Gnome who has moved to a large city adjacent to her own village to attend school. Her story begins with how she becomes herself, how she learns about herself, her interests, and abilities.  Part of this development is learning to accept who she is, and to live with the struggles that she faces. I have added aspects of social anxiety, attention deficit-disorder, hyper-fixations, and panic attacks to her character. The world is one of acceptance, an ideal world there are and ill continue to be SSA, GD, and GNC characters throughout, and a increasing cast of races as the setting expands.NOTE:This is my first attempt at writing so it will be messy, probably poorly thought out but we all start somewhere.I am trying to incorporate different concepts into this story and am exploring how to express them so please keep that in mind that it may not be accurate as I learn.I'm basing her of a D&D 5e  character, and using concepts from existing lore.





	1. Chapter One - Where Do I Begin.

“Why hello there little journal, It looks like you will be keeping my company on my little adventure”.

Let me introduce myself, gosh you know this is a lot easier when not in person. Well I suppose firstly, I’m a Gnome and I come from a little tree village not far from here, maybe a day and a half by foot. I’m about average size, 3”4’ and 55lbs. People say I’m very skinny for a Gnome but I find it hard to believe them. I have long brown hair that reaches just above my hip, I used to have more of it but it kept blowing into my mouth and eyes while I was studying and I got so frustrated I shaved half of it off. You have no idea how annoying it is when your hair sweeps across your freshly quilled notes, smudging them to an unrecognisable mess. So yeah, now I have a shaved side, left side to be precise. The rest I keep in a tight braid and pin so it falls down my front. There is so much hair up there that if I want I can use some to cover up the shaved side if I get cold, but I kind of like feeling the breeze on my skin… what was I, oh yes, I have olive skin that shimmers a little in the sunlight, everyone’s skin does that here, something about the fey something, something, I was told once I’m sure but I forget it now. Oh, I do remember they say that the shimmer can change based on someone’s mood but I don’t pay attention to that. My eyes are a deep green, Ma always said it was like looking at a flawless jewel. Umm, what else, well I’m a girl and have been always. I’m almost 30, never had a partner. I spend all my time reading and writing notes to really have the time, and that stuff is so scary, I honestly don’t know how people do it, the whole talking to each other thing. I always end up freezing up, not knowing what to say or what to do, and if I do say something people just tend to look at me strangely. It’s why I spend almost all my time in the Library, It’s nicer there, less talking unless you want the archivists to come. They aren’t bad, well not to me anyways, but this one time I saw them pic up an Elf boy by his scruff and walk him out for being too loud. Did I mention I like to read? Its like my favourite thing ever! I read so much. Like just last week I found a section in the library dedicated to Gnomish History and how we came to live around here. I must have read thirty books in the past week on it, I do that sometimes. Sometimes I just get so excited about something that it’s all I can do, I made so many notes I had to get the floor archivist to help me take them all back to my room. Ooh, so I live here too, I have a little room down near all the others. The rooms are built for Elven height so its basically huge for me. I got them to replace this really big bed that took up like all the room in the middle of the room for my hammock from home. Now I have so much more room for books and my notes although I still find myself running out of space. I’m not the only one that lives here, lots of people do. Some attend class, others help around the place, some spend like all their time in the study towers. They are neat, they are connected to the walls of the library and are like sounds proof and you basically you can use them and store all of your stuff in there, and while you’re the person using them you’re the only one that can enter it, its like your own cocoon. So good for if you need all those books you’re not allowed to take back to your rooms. I attended classes for the first few years I was here, its kind of the rules that you do all these classes so you can stay here. Some were so amazing we learnt such interesting things, others I could hardly stay awake I was so bored. But now I’m allowed to do my own thing, I do have to help look after the place though, so normally my morning is spent doing chores like, sweeping floors, dusting the shelves, realigning books that sort of thing. I try my best to not get distracted by the books I put away but sometimes I just get lost and forget that I’m meant to be cleaning not reading. But then in the afternoon I find my table well, technically it’s not my table but it’s almost always empty and its nice being the same one all the time. After dinner I tend to go back to my room, the light is a bit better there once the sun goes down. But I’m allowed to take most books back to my room! I am meant to take them back though… I kind of just don’t and keep them all in like piles with all the notes on the area. So my room is kind of just full, sometimes it is difficult to get to bed but that’s okay. Oh how did I forget! I have a pet too who stays in my room with me. He is a weasel well I’m pretty sure that’s what he is, I met him just outside the city walls. So I was reading this book on animal handling I think it was Critters for Beginners I was told I had to read it for my classes in the first year. I love animals, being raised in the forest means they are everywhere! So obviously I loved that class, it was the only one I really paid attention to the others were like on numbers, how the market worked, and like nobles. Ugh who cares about that when there are cute animals! OH! right so I was reading that walking along the outside of the wall just on the edge of the forest reading as I go dropping berries and oats occasionally as I go. You know when you just get so engrossed in a book you forget to look where you’re going? Well that kind of happens to me a lot, so I ended up running into this huge tree and falling over. When I sat up again there he was, a little weasel was dangling in front of me just looking at me. Well you see I’m not sure if he is a full weasel or not, because he isn’t red, he has a pastel pink coat, and a white spiral around his tail which is so much longer than a weasels should be. I decided to try and give him a berry, he was a bit nervous but eventually reached forward and took it, immediately stuffing it into his mouth. But he then stuck his paws out for more! the cheek, but I gave him another, and another, and another, until he couldn’t fit anymore in his mouth and skittered back up into the tree. I tried to see where he had scuttled off to but couldn’t spot him so far down. It was a bit late in the afternoon, so I decided to go back to my room to finish my book, I was reading it late into the night before falling asleep. But the next morning, just as the sun reaches the dorm windows a little after sunrise I woke up to a very fuzzy, purring creature who had tucked himself into the crescent of my knee and his head was resting just on top of my knee facing me. So yeah! That’s how met Caffie, oh yeah his name is Caffie, oh I suppose I just mentioned that. But yeah he has been with me since. I used druid crafting to make him a nice big hovel just between the feet end of my hammock and the window. I put it up near one of the wood beams so he would have some natural wood near him too and he could build anything else he would like onto it. I do have to clean out the hovel sometimes though, he has a thing for hording berries in there and they tend to smell after a while. So obviously having a pet meant I had to read so much more about how to look after him and train him, and what he needs to do and stuff, so I now have this huge pile of books an notes scattered around the little hovel because what if I needed to reference something I needed it quick at hand. So yeah, that section is pretty much animal stuff and an actual animal now. Oh so you also do a whole bunch of language classes, they normally start first year also and cover the basics of what is common around the city, but if you want to you can continue those in the following years and learn to be more fluent. I really liked being able to read more books from other types of people so I studied them so super hard. I can speak common, come now it’s common because its common. But I can also speak Gnomish from back in the village, Ma and Pa only ever spoke in Gnomish back at home, even though they knew other languages, Ma always preferred it, said jokes sound better in Gnomish. I can also speak Druidic and Draconic; I love how the runes change so much when reading those. Ok so I speak one more but don’t tell anyone, technically I not allowed in that part of the library, so I may or may not understand Undercommon. Woops. I don’t know many spells yet, mostly just druid craft and some minor healing. Hmm what else to say, Oh I can tell you about what I’m wearing! So I wear a dark royal blue tunic that comes down to about my knees, I also have this really nice yet simple mid-corset made out of light brown leather, I mostly started wearing it so the archivists would stop pinching me about my posture will I was reading. I also have some warm leggings that finish just above my ankle. I don’t really like wearing shoes, I miss the feeling of the textures under my feet and get a bit lost without that sensation although I do have some winter boots for the cold season. Running around bare foot does mean I often have to mop the floor because I burst through the halls without thinking and leave muddy tracks everywhere. But the archivists are nice about it, did I mention I like them? They are so friendly, they help when I forget to do some chores or don’t notice my mess, oh and sometimes they will pick me up from the desk and return me to my room if I’ve fallen asleep on a big stack of books, or they sometimes bring me food if they notice I haven’t moved all day and forgot to eat. They don’t talk all that much, not much for small talk which is extra nice I’m so awful at small talk. What was I doing again?


	2. Chapter Two - Home Sweet Home.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter we explore Bellowswoom's home village, and a bit of her early history. Find out a bit more about her parents, and a bit about how she grew up with her traits and what lead her to move to the city (which i will think of a name for eventually).
> 
> NOTE:  
> I touch on how her avoidance and exposure to society impact her, I also aim to highlight how she manages her nerves and racing thoughts.

Oh there you are, how did you get under all those books, I could have sworn I put you in that pile. I’ve been looking for days, even Caffie was helping, well maybe not helping but certainly eating all the crumbs off the floor. Wait, Caffie no come back here, you can’t eat that. Sorry back, apparently breakfast, a snack, and another before ten in the morning isn’t enough. You know you’ll get a stomach-ache if you keep that up, yes you, the one looking at, oh I see, go hide then you bottomless pit of fluff. Ooh a cookie half, I wonder when that was from? It’s still good no worries. Sorry, wait where did I leave the story. Hmm, something introduction, something library, something hmm. Wait where did I put my name, I, surely I put it in here. No matter, my name is Bellowsoom Longvine and this shall be my story. You may also refer to me as ‘Bel’ it is what they have been calling me since I arrived at the library. I think it’s because sometimes the archivists have to ring their bells right in front of my face to get my attention. But it isn’t my fault, I just get so invested in my books I just don’t notice anything else. Hmm what should I let you know about today. Hmm. OH, how about a bit about where I grew up? So you know that I grew up in a little forest tree village just outside the city, called Ivy’s Bloom. It is up in the trees of the forest just near the canopy so it is out of the way for all the animals that live on the forest floor it’s also a little harder for bad things to get all the way up there. We are pretty agile, us Forest Gnomes, so running across the branches around the trees isn’t too much of a hassle, but we do have boardwalks between the major areas for the elderly and such. There are about 20 families that call Ivy’s Bloom home now, that doesn’t sound like many, but when consider how many baby Gnomes that means, it is a lot! My family is the smallest out of all the families, all the others have so many kids, but not mine, I’m the only one. I’m not sure why they haven’t had more I have never asked, I like my little family, when ever we went to others houses for dinner it was always so noisy and I’d get so worked up we’d have to go home early. Ma and Pa are such lovely people, we lived in this little hut build on one of the highest branches of the village, away from a lot of the noise and rumble of the lower buildings. It only had 2 rooms, Ma and Pa had a bedroom with just enough room for them to stand either side of the bed, and another that had the kitchen area and dinner table and a small rocking chair just in the corner. I didn’t have my own room, I had my hammock strung up under a window that was placed just right so I could see the night sky through the remaining branches as I went to sleep. It was cosy, during the cold season much of our heating was what we could create ourselves, some people could control fire so it wouldn’t burn anything, others had magic lanterns, or enchanted fireplaces. It kind of depended on what you could do. Pa was able to control small amounts of fire, so he often just had a little fire lit in a little metal pit that we had set up in the middle of the hut, just enough to heat the room. On the level below where our hut is, a lot of the other family’s huts are. I don’t know if hut is right though, because some of them were so big that they wrapped around whole trees. But they needed to be you know some of the larger families had fifteen kids living under one roof, not to mention if they had grandparents, or other family living in them. Just below that level was the market level, this is my least favourite area, it was so loud, there were people everywhere I always felt so on edge when I had to go there. Below had more huts, not as many as above the market, but these were the oldest huts of the village. Being up in the trees we didn’t have typical farmland or animals. So we had developed garden beds that we could attach to the sides of the trees. It took a long time, to haul soil up to fill them, but with the small gaps against the tree the water could flow down watering the plants and still drain out below. You know I have Caffie, remember him my little weasel, well I’m not the only one that has a critter for a pet. Many Gnomes made friends with the animals that we shared the canopy with, some as pets, others just as friendly neighbours. Part of adopting one as a pet meant training it to gather food. Obviously they could gather their own food, they didn’t need help with that. But by training them to gather extras to share meant that we had a supply of berries and nuts from all over the forest. We don’t eat meat, or really any animal product at home, I think because we like having the animals around we don’t want to scare them by taking their eggs or hurting them. Ma always use to growl at this sneaky squirrel that lived above us, you could just see the little den they had in the tree from the steps outside out hut. But she would always catch him sneaking berries from the drying rack. Ooh she got so mad sometimes, because he knew what he was doing, he stuck his tongue out at her when she caught him before shoving another berry in his mouth and skittering up the tree. It always made Pa and I laugh when she would race out the front and shake her fist at this little squirrel. Oh right, I can tell you what Ma and Pa do. So they both work down in the market a little way outside it actually, they both make cloth and silks, it’s where they met actually. Ma is a little older than Pa, so when Pa started looking for work Ma had already been working as a weaver for several years. So when he started learning the trade she had to show him the ropes. I remember Pa telling me about it when I was little, he use to tell me how amazing Ma was, no one could weave as fast or as beautifully as she could. He told me she made it look like a mesmerising dance of thread as she spun it into bolts, almost with her eyes closed just moving to a rhythm only she could hear. There are about 5 weavers in the village, with a number more that moved on to sewing, and clothes making. My village values having the knowledge to make the products you need, so if you want to make clothes you start at making the cloth, if you want to be a cook, you start by learning how to grow the food. These days, Ma still spins but specialises in the finest silk we can make. She use to tell me that Pa could never quite get the rhythm, but he was amazing with the moths. He seemed to just understand them, what they needed, what they wanted. He enjoyed sitting in the enclosure with them, just letting them fly around him, rest on his hair, his face, arms. He says he had no clue of peace until he lost himself in the enclosure, closing himself off to everything else, just the sound of the flapping wings, nibbling at leaves, the tiny feet on your skin, the burst of air as they take off. Ma always knows where to find him if he has had a bad day, or a poor night. Just sitting in the enclosure, almost sleeping, with moths covering him head to toe, he looks like a beautiful rainbow of glittering wings in the moon light. Sometimes a moth will get caught in his hair, and pop out at home flying around the room before returning to the safety of his hair for him to return it to its home. For me, while they worked, I stayed at home, the weaver hut is full of pointy sharp things, no good for a young Gnome so I read. Moving around the home as each position got uncomfortable reading anything and everything. I never felt more whole than when I lost myself in the pages, my mind settled, no longer rushing, no more distractions, not being afraid I was safe in the words of the page. As I got older, Ma and Pa would bring more books home, and take the ones I’d finished the day before back the next morning. I only kept the ones that were truly special to me even so, the house was shrinking as more and more shelves were added to store those most dear to me. With the small amount of trade we have with the city we could acquire things that we as a village didn’t make ourselves, like books, like leather, shoes for those who wanted them. One evening, Ma and Pa didn’t bring home any books, normally they’d find one that I hadn’t read but, this time they had a elderly Gnome with them that I didn’t recognise. Even with spending most of my time at home I knew almost all the other Gnomes in the village. His name was Gunthr and he lived in the city where he ran a bookstore with his husband. He had made the trip out to Ivy’s Bloom out of curiosity. He wanted to know why so many books were sent out for trade and then many would return the next. He had asked Ma and Pa what they did with so many books when they had arrived to collect some more. So they decided to show him, well me, to introduce me. I remember when they arrived I was upside down from a branch reading the last of the books for the day, saying hi without stopping. It wasn’t till Ma said this is Bellowsoom, our daughter, and book worm you asked about that I noticed something was different. I don’t know how I managed to stay balanced where I was but as soon as I was distracted, I lost balance and fell to the floor. I remember getting up and seeing three Gnomes in the entrance, thinking I must have hit my head really hard this time like that time I had a pile of books fall on me. Ma and Pa are use to me falling out of strange places around the hut so continued the introduction. Gunthr was amazed by how young I was and how fast I tore through the books they sent, he said he had thought that it must be a village elder or family that was reading the quantity of books to have them ready to return the next day. He never imagined it would be a single young Gnome just shy of adulthood. Nothing much else happened that night, he stayed for dinner with us talking to Ma and Pa about the city, business, and trade, while I spent the evening finishing my book. The next day though, sent me spiralling like I’d fallen from the tree. Ma and Pa told me about the place Gunthr had been mentioning that he thought would be amazing for a bookworm like me. They told me of a library so full of books I could never read them all. Being soon to reach adulthood, technically I would need to find a job in the village. Knowing how well I handled people, and loud places Ma and Pa had been nervous about this time for a while, although almost 25 at this point I still didn’t talk to people, I avoided crowds, and was only really comfortable in a place I knew. They suggested to me that I go with Gunthr when he returns and attend this library in the city. The thought of leaving, moving to a giant city, full of people sent me into a full blown panic attack, I ended up rocking on their bed hugging my knees so tight I couldn’t breathe. I fell asleep in their bed with them either side that night. I couldn’t imagine not being around them, or being in a far off place with new experiences. I think it was a couple weeks before Gunthr returned to the village. Over this time Ma and Pa had been slowly working me up to being okay with the idea of going, like don’t get me wrong I was still petrified but the idea of having a little room, and more books than I could possibly imagine did have its pull. So when he arrived, he told Ma and Pa that he had organised my room at the library and would be happy to escort me there, show me around the town, be a guide and friendly face in the new city. It normally takes me longer to be comfortable with new people, But Ma and Pa said that he was a lovely gentleman that would look out for me, that put me at ease a bit but I’m not sure, something about him just made me feel less like panicking and like it would be okay. So that’s how I ended up here, I suppose it’s a bit longer than just describing Ivy’s Bloom, but it felt write telling you about that here. I suppose the next step would be to tell you how life in the city started.


	3. Welcome to Mel'rym

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following Bel's retelling of how she managed to find herself, an isolated, socially anxious Gnome, in the biggest city she has ever seen and her initial experiences upon arriving and meeting a few new souls.

So Gunthr keeps his promise and escorted me back to the city, it’s about half a days walk from the wall of the city, I’m sure if I climbed to the very highest tree in the village I’d almost be able to see it. The very first thing anyone notices when they arrive at Mel’rym is its walls, I’d never seen a large city let alone one that had walls, but this was breathtaking. The walls are almost 100feet high, as it rides along side the forest edge not 50feet away. The stonework looks as if carved as a single piece of marble, rippled with opal like lines shimmering in contrast to the stones purple hew. As we approached the gatehouse, we passed all kinds of people moving in and out of the city, famers, foragers, hunters, guards, merchants, travellers. Mel’rym is an elven city but over the last millennia welcomed the surrounding forest Gnomes to join their city, shortly followed by a clan of dwarfs that had parted from their previous hold to start anew. Given the history between many races one may expect it took a bit of adjusting but the elders of Mel’rym aren’t like others I’ve read about, they have a drive for knowledge and experience more akin to a halfling than one may expect of elves. However much of Mel’ryms walls are far more ancient than that, designs subtle, delicate, beautiful, as if understanding the balance of the city and the forest it sat in. But back to the gatehouse, it is one of two entrances to the city, thirty horses wide, although no moat, it did have a draw bridge to protect the foundation and provide additional defence if so needed. Eight guards were stationed at the gate, not in a threatening manner, they checked the occasional merchant cart and greeted newcomers, giving directions through the city. Once you passed through the gatehouse you began to comprehend the size of Mel’rym it is a beyond daunting experience. As we made our way towards Gunthrs bookstore following the main road towards one of the market squares he pointed out all he different living quarters, pubs, restaurants, Inns, speciality stores, he made snide remarks about other bookstores and then laughed. He mentioned how the city has four main roads that each allow easy transport between each market and the two gatehouses. Each market varied slightly in the goods traded, the one we were heading towards was closest to the Elder Elves and had fine cloths, sweet wines, jewels, and fruit. The market further east was closest to the mountain side of the city were the dwarves had made there home allowing them to burrow and have aspects of their former mountain caves, that market was full of minerals, meats, mead and beer so strong a sip would knock a gnome of their stool, much of the industrial building occurred around the east market. Finally the southern market, it was the most hodgepodge of them all, being the newest influences from the three races had contributed to what was provided, it also made it the most unusual to look at with many varying height buildings lining the outside of the square. You can only imagine how terrified I was at this point, there were more people just moving through the gatehouse than in my whole village. As we rode in through the city on the small trading cart towards the market, I was covered in a cold sweat, white knuckles clenching the corners of my bag as I huddled it close to me, if not for my hood people would have seen the terror in my eyes, I could hardly look around, mostly following staring at the horses hooves as they walked along the cobbled street. My heart became the only thing I could hear, blurring out the sounds of the markets, the conversations, the kids playing and getting yelled at by their parents. The cart pulled into the western market square ready to be unloaded, Gunthr climbed down from the cart and held out his hand to aid but I couldn’t move, I was frozen solid in fear, with no where to run and hide, nowhere I felt safe. All I could think was the people, so many people, so much noise, everything felt ten times louder than it probably was. I don’t remember what happened, when I finally calmed, I was no longer in the cart, I found myself in a small bed, wrapped up tight by a snuggly blanket and a damp cloth on my head. Everything was slightly blurry as first, nothing lined up, I could hear the streets outside, but they were now muffled. To my side sitting right next to the bed was another Gnome, not Gunthr, this one looked slightly older, had huge glasses that took up most of his face, he was flicking through a small book when he noticed me looking at him. I don’t really remember what he said then, I was so out of sorts, but he scuttered off and Gunthr appeared with an elven woman, she had to duck to make it through the doorways clearly intended for Gnomes. They were talking about something probably me, as she lent over the bed and placed one hand on my forehead and the other on my wrist, staying there for a moment, then a bright light appeared on a finger tip as she traced it in front of my face. Apparently satisfied she lent back helping me to sit up slightly in the bed. Her name was Afamrial, a local healer Gunthr had asked her to see me. The Gnome with the giant glasses had returned with a steaming pot of tea, and Gunthr pored a cup and handed it to me. I was slightly more aware by now and managed to squeak out, where was I? Gunthr answered that I was in his bookstore upstairs in a spare bedroom slash storage room. He told me how I had locked up and wouldn’t move, or respond to him, and he had one of the local guards carry me the short distance to the bookstore. I have no memory of this guard or being picked up out of the cart. He went on to say that he was so concerned he left his husband Braern with me while he went and found aid. Introducing me to Afamrial who took over saying I had had an incredibly distressing panic attack; she had only seen a number so severe in the many years she had been a healer. Dabbing my head with the cloth, she told me that when she arrived, I was a limp noodle, unresponsive but conscious, she had given me a sleepy tea and tucked me into the tight blanket I woke in. She then asked if anything like it had happened before? I still couldn’t bring my self to talk any more than I had to, just nodding a response. Following if it had ever been this bad, I shook my head, slowly lifting the warm tea for a small sip. It was the most terrible, haunting, traumatic experience I have ever had and to this day I often wake in cold sweats fearing another taking hold of my body, freezing me in place, trapped in an unescapable den of horror. Afamriel told me I was to stay here with Gunthr and Braern for the night, that she would return in the morning to check on me again. As she left the room, she said something to Gunthr but I didn’t hear it well enough to recall it now. The two gentle Gnomes sat with me most of the evening, drinking tea, accepting the silence as I mostly stared at the end of the bed. Occasionally, they would try and start a conversation with me, but I had no words, I was so very tired and unsure about what had happened. I fell asleep eventually, it was a deep, long, dreamless sleep. I normally recall the vivid adventures I would go on as in the novels I read nothing that night, just a dark empty void. I awoke the next day with Afamriel softly talking to Gunthr at the end of the bed. I remember the pounding in my head that morning, like my brain was trying to beat its way out of my skull. I had sat upright grasping my head, groaning loudly. Afamriel told me she expected I’d be sore this morning, which turned out to be mid afternoon by the time I actually woke, she placed a hand on my head, and muttered to herself, and the pain eased, now only a dull pulse behind my eyes and she handed me a glass of water. You know little Gnome, your awful brave to come to Mel’rym if you have such a reaction to people, what has brought you here? Gunthr chimed in and said I was to be going to stay at the College across the road, that’s why he had come to her the day prior. She was sitting beside the bed looking at me, I must have looked like I took the wrong end of a donkey’s hoof, my face was so sore and felt swollen like I’d been crying for hours, although I don’t remember doing so. She then told Gunthr and I as I was in the room, that she would accompany He and I when we went to the college, it was only down the street from the bookstore, and if they were expecting me to arrive yesterday some additional aid making it there sounded appropriate. Braern brought up some toast and fruit, and more tea. I managed a piece of toast before, Afamriel helped me out of bed, I was still in my clothes from the day previous, which were still damp from the day before, both gnomes left the room and she helped me change my clothes, my entire body felt like it had just had the largest cramp imaginable, every move hurt in some way, I wouldn’t have asked for help, but I was glad Afamriel did. I managed to gingerly climb down the ladder from the second floor, looking at it, I have no idea how Afamriel was able to navigate the floors but no she gracefully slid down the ladder behind me. Braern had taken what looked to be his seat behind the counter, a simple chair that had a large back looping around and it was stuffed full of cushions, he sat cross-legged in the nest of pillows and was counting coins out into little coin purses. Gunthr was waiting by the door, he had a neatly bundled tower of books in his arms and was smiling at me, or maybe it was Afamriel I’m not sure. Do you ever get that feeling where everything just becomes to much, even taking small steps seems like you’re trying to climb the largest mountain? At home, Ma and Pa would grasp a hand each and take each step with me, as slowly as I needed, never pressuring me to go faster, or to snap out of it, they just supported me. It gave me a sudden jolt when Afamriel knelt down and took one of my hands, she whispered you have nothing to fear, remember your safe place, and it will be over before you know it, placing her free hand on my cheek, running her thumb across my cheekbone. Which with her longer hands almost poked me in the eye but it was still comforting, like home. Gunthr with the tower of books still managed to open the door as we approached, the noise of the street had lessened being slightly away from the market, but so much more than back home. Afamriel tightened her grip as we crossed the threshold into the reasonably busy street. People were everywhere but had less of the hustle than when arriving the day before, it was calmer, less merchants yelling about their wares competing against others, fewer children running through the streets, almost no carts were being pulled through the street. As we slowly walked down the street, on our right was the largest building I have ever seen, easily the biggest in the whole city. I imagined you could have gazed upon the entire city from even one of the shortest towers. It was made of large stone bricks, light grey colouring, much of its base had brilliant green moss ever climbing higher up he stone walls, some purposely placed to descend from the windows high in the towers. I hardy noticed us walking as I took it all in, the closer we got I noticed the stain glass windows, the slowly fading glyphs as the appear randomly along the stonework. Afamriel squeezed my hand as we turned the corner to the main entrance, two massive doors of dark mahogany greeted us thirty feet high, sitting above a warping stain glass window just as large, design constantly moving, changing its patterns. For someone who didn’t like new experiences, I didn’t quite mind this one, I stood and watched the stain glass shift it reminded me of the changes in the colours around the forest constantly reflecting something new. As I watched in awe Afamreil began to tell me about this being the main entrance to the college, it opens into a large open foyer with numerous corridors and stairways leading from it, the far end sat multiple clerks directing people throughout the grounds. Gunthr was trailing close behind has we descended the few stairs towards the doorway. As we reach the bottom of the stairs the giant looming doors right in front of us, Afamriel gestured and asked if I would like to open the doors, unsure how a tiny Gnome was going to even budge such a monstrously large door, I didn’t quite take her seriously, placing my free hand against the door and pushed.


End file.
